Driving Offences & Immediate Roadside Prohibitions

In addition to charges under the Criminal Code of Canada, there are other driving related charges that can arise under the Highway Traffic Act. These types of charges can result in a driving prohibition, fines and can include jail time. The other instances where you would seek the advice of a criminal lawyer would be for driving while disqualified or in a situation where you are facing a lengthy driving prohibition.

If you have been charged with an impaired related offence, please refer the DUI Offences page on this website.

Driving While Prohibited

Driving while disqualified is treated extremely seriously by the police, the prosecutors, and judges. This criminal law charge involves driving a vehicle when that person has been prohibited from doing so, either by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, or the Court. In order to prove this offence, the Crown must prove that the person charged knew of the prohibition; that the prohibition was in effect the entire day of the offence date; and that the person prohibited, was driving. Such offences are quite technical to prove and afford many defenses.

Dangerous Driving

This criminal law offence can be described as driving in a manner that is considered to be a marked departure from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the Accused’s situation. Similarly to the above, defenses relate to one’s subjective knowledge and action(s) at the time.

If convicted summarily, a dangerous driver is liable to fines and varying jail time depending on whether the dangerous driver causes bodily harm or not.

Driving Without Due Care & Attention

This offence is charged under the Motor Vehicle Act (s.144). It generally relates to one’s manner of driving under the circumstances as they existed at the time of the offence.   It is a strict liability offence. The Crown need only prove that the Accused committed the prohibited act; the Accused must then demonstrate that the act / manner of driving was done without negligence or fault on his part.  These cases can also be technical in nature and also provide many defenses depending on the driver’s subjective knowledge and action(s) at the relevant time.